Grants Fund New Device To Help Batesville Fire & Rescue Save Lives

Tuesday, August 20, 2019 at 7:40 AM

By City of Batesville, news release

Donations have allowed Batesville Fire & Rescue to purchase a new life-saving piece of CPR equipment.

Photo provided.

(Batesville, Ind.) - Three separate organizations have generously donated funds to Batesville Fire & Rescue for a new, state-of-the-art lifesaving device.

Rising Sun Regional Foundation, Ripley County Community Foundation, and Walmart awarded a total of $18,000 for the purchase of the LUCAS 3 Chest Compression System.

The LUCAS system is an electrically powered tool that provides safe and effective standardized chest compressions consistent with American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines. The device is placed on the chest of a patient in cardiac arrest and performs automatic CPR which allows first responders to focus on other lifesaving tasks and speed diagnosis and treatment of underlying conditions.

“This machine simply performs CPR more consistently than a human can by overcoming caregiver fatigue, awkward positions and variations in CPR quality,” said Fire Chief Todd Schutte. “This is especially important when transporting a cardiac arrest victim in an ambulance for a long distance and will give more people a fighting chance to get to the hospital.”

The portable device is stationed on the ambulance and can be deployed within seconds of arriving at an emergency scene.

“This is one of many projects the Rising Sun Regional Foundation is thrilled to support as this technology has proven to have an extensive impact on the overall health of the communities we serve,” said Jascia Redwine, Rising Sun Regional Foundation Executive Director.

According to a Cleveland Clinic survey in 2018, only 54 percent of Americans say they know how to perform CPR while heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.

Batesville Fire & Rescue is a full-service fire and emergency medical service agency providing basic and advanced pre-hospital life support, fire prevention and education programs, fire suppression services, and vehicle extrication.